Viking Fund |
Andrew Burton |
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Metic House, Ripley Drive |
Normanton, West Yorkshire |
WF6 1QT |
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www.vikingfund.co.ukViking Fund is a Yorkshire-wide, co-investment venture capital fund. Set up with UK government capital under the DTI/Small Business Service’s Early Growth Fund, it provides early-stage risk capital to match - on no lesser terms - that invested by business angels or other private sector investors. The profile of a typical first-round investment would be: Yorkshire-based team in their late 20s to early 40s: novel and protectable technology-based product or service: at trials/early revenue stage with pipeline of prospects: needing £100k to £250k to launch the business into the market: evidence of strong market drivers, at start of 3-5 year high growth phase, potential returns > 40% IRR. Since being launched in June 2004, Viking Fund has invested a total of almost £1.1m in 14 companies, at an average first round investment of some £65,000. This has been matched with more than £1.5m from private investors. Viking Fund has a further £2.9m to invest before 2009, and aims to back 10 more companies during 2006/07. With a growing portfolio of investments, which are themselves growing rapidly, Viking Fund is looking set for a bright year ahead. Already, one of its investments has floated on AIM (Syntopix Plc) and two others have secured second round funding. Viking Fund has a sister company, Viking Club, which offers membership to a limited number of high net worth individuals who will co-invest. Viking Fund generally filters the enquiries, appraises the opportunities and, if the Fund wishes to invest, it passes the information to the Club. Members select opportunities in which they wish to invest, and to what level. Viking Fund undertakes all completion documentation, and monitors the investments. Club members pay a joining fee and an annual subscription and receive automatic membership to the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels. The Club hosts a bi-monthly Members’ dinner and currently has 22 members. |
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